Cold water: AL Legend vs Apeks XTX50

[soilure]

Essentially, yes. The ACD simply has a threaded plug that service technicians use to adjust the spring tension on the poppet. The LX has one adjustment inside of the knob for fine tuning the reg, otherwise the LX knob and the adjustment on the ACD operate the same. The LX just gives you the luxury of being able to adjust it during the dive. If you had access to the parts you could easily make an ACD into a LX. However, I must note that it's a little more complicated than removing the plug and screwing in the knob. There is a pin that prevents you from completely backing out the plug or knob that requires disassembling the second stage in order for you to get to it.

 

[FrankPro1]

So I ended up getting the Legend Lx w/Acd. The Apeks and it were pretty much the same price at my LDS. I looked over these forums and it seems there were plenty of people supporting both brands. I liked that the Apeks 2nd stage could be converted from left to right and that it had 2 sets of exhaust tees. I did however not like the swivel turret that the Apeks had and would have preferred it not be there. I really liked the look of the Legend first stage and have read on various posts that its performance is more like the XTX200 "though I doubt my lungs could tell the difference between the xtx50 and the legend". My instructor was at my LDS when I made my purchase and said the two were like comparing "apples and apples, virtually no difference". I chose the one I thought was more aesthetically pleasing and since my dive buddy already had the xtx50, I thought I'd choose something different.

One thing I did find in the Aqualung manual and also etched into my 2nd stage was that the legend is only rated to 50f. I've read up on the forums and everyone agrees that the legend lx is perfectly fine for cold water and the only reason Aqualung did this was to be able to sell the Supreme versions. I talked with my LDS owner and he said that unless I am doing ice diving, there is no reason to buy the supreme version. Even then he said I could just get my Ip adjusted down and I would practically have the Supreme, minus the lip shield. If anyone wants to reinforce this idea or refute it... It would be much appreciated.

 

[Tortuga68]

You can pick up a Legend ACD for considerably less than an APEKS. Yes, both regs come with parts for life...

I know that (free service parts) is true for Aqualung, but I didn't think it was for Apeks?

 

[keyshunter]

Both Aqua Lung and Apeks have free parts for life--if you play their little game!

 

[John_B]

...and since my dive buddy already had the xtx50, I thought I'd choose something different.

Another way of looking at this would be to buy the same thing as your dive buddy to minimize the amount of spare parts you might both need, but to each his own.

I say this because I have Apeks XTX-100s and my main buddy has Scubapro MK17s/G250s which means his regulators obviously have a different main diaphragm, exhaust diaphragm, etc. than mine.

 

[FrankPro1]

Another way of looking at this would be to buy the same thing as your dive buddy to minimize the amount of spare parts you might both need, but to each his own.

At this point in our scuba training, I doubt my buddy or I could remedy a problem in our regs, no matter how many parts we had. On the other hand, if we were on a dive boat, there could certainly be someone on there to fix it. Good Advice, I'll have to take that into fact for future purchases.

 

[616fun]

One thing I did find in the Aqualung manual and also etched into my 2nd stage was that the legend is only rated to 50f. I've read up on the forums and everyone agrees that the legend lx is perfectly fine for cold water and the only reason Aqualung did this was to be able to sell the Supreme versions. I talked with my LDS owner and he said that unless I am doing ice diving, there is no reason to buy the supreme version. Even then he said I could just get my Ip adjusted down and I would practically have the Supreme, minus the lip shield. If anyone wants to reinforce this idea or refute it... It would be much appreciated.

They are exactly the same reg. Ice diving or not. IP for the Legend is 135psi +- 5psi. The lower the IP the better for cold water conditions.

The lip shield, in my opinion, is a gimmick.

 

[soilure]

Yeah, I never understood the lip shield. I can't see how it could possibly keep your lips warm.

 

[beanojones]

I know that (free service parts) is true for Aqualung, but I didn't think it was for Apeks?

The parts may not have been free for life before Aqualung bought them (Although I know Zeagle has free parts for life and did when they were selling re-badged APeks). But when AL bought them, I know they made the policies match with the rest of the Aqualung line.